Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques - Air interface specification for Mobile RFID interrogators

This International Standard applies to Mobile radio frequency identification (RFID) interrogator devices used to inventory passive or semi-passive backscatter tags at 860 MHz to 960 MHz in a mobile (non-fixed) application independent from specific communication details, i.e. modulation technique and command set.

Furthermore, the scope of this International Standard is mobile consumer applications, whereas mobile enterprise applications are not covered as long as operating in a closed environment.

An operating environment is considered to be closed if it belongs to a central administrative authority able to guarantee for sufficient isolation, i.e. preventing mobile enterprise interrogator devices from being used outside the dedicated operating environment, and if sufficient spatial separation and/or electromagnetic shielding from adjacent operating environments is provided.

An application is considered a consumer application if at least one of two interacting entities is a private individual (consumer) and the interaction is taking place in the public domain. Consequently, a Mobile RFID consumer application is defined as Mobile RFID equipment (e.g. mobile phones equipped with an RFID interrogator) being used in a consumer application.

NOTE As there is currently no active contribution on Mobile HF interrogators, this International Standard covers only UHF.

This International Standard specifies

- Mobile RFID interrogator media access control
- interrogator to interrogator and multiple interrogator to tag collision arbitration scheme including interrogator requirements         
- interrogator to interrogator and multiple interrogator to tag collision avoidance scheme, and
- tag memory use for Mobile RFID applications.

This International Standard does not specify

- physical interactions (the signaling layer of the communication link) between interrogators and tags
- interrogator and tag operating procedures and commands, and
- the collision arbitration algorithm used to singulate (separate to the current response slot) a specific tag in a multiple-tag environment.

NOTE These aspects are addressed by other International Standards.

In particular, this International Standard does not replace any existing RFID air interface specification issued by ISO/IEC but extends the existing methodologies for fixed RFID interrogators with mechanisms addressing the special challenges of Mobile RFID. The concepts and mechanisms described in this International Standard can be integrated in any existing RFID protocol approved by ISO/IEC for the given frequency range of 860 MHz to 960 MHz (unless explicitly prohibited by such protocol) regardless of the actual command set.

The mechanisms defined by this International Standard can be used for Mobile RFID interrogators used in consumer applications and compliant to ISO/IEC 18000-6.